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AKRON - On Wednesday morning, U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi returned to the federal courthouse and went about her regular routine.

The media moved on to Wednesday's Akron story, which was the appearance of President Barack Obama, two blocks from the federal courthouse, where they had covered the sentencing of convicted former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora's sentencing on Monday and Tuesday.

Lioi sentenced Dimora to 28 years in federal prison for the 32 counts of racketeering and corruption-related charges he was convicted on when the verdicts were read March 9.

Dimora's attorneys said immediately after the sentencing that he is appealing his convictions and appealing his sentence. For now, he is in the Northeast Ohio Correctional Institution near Youngstown.

But Dimora asked Lioi to send him to the Federal Medical Center, one of four facilities at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex, in Butner, North Carolina.

FMC Butner is an administrative facility that houses male inmates of all security levels. FMC Butner is located about 45 minutes north of Durham, North Carolina.

Most people are unaware that there is no parole in the federal criminal justice system. Individuals convicted of federal offenses will typically serve at least 85 percent of their prison sentences, even if they obtain time off for good behavior.

A minimum of one year and one day must be served before time off for good behavior begins to be awarded.

According to Title 18 USC 3624, individuals serving a sentence of one year or longer in federal custody are eligible for up to 54 days of "good time" per year they've served.

The calculations are based on the time the inmate has already served, not what his sentence is.

If Dimora, 57, serves the entire 28-year sentence, he would be 85 when he is released.

The request for the medical center is because of Dimora's ailments, which include a knee injury, phlebitis, an aneurysm, an unidentified mass behind his lungs and a degenerative disc problem.

Monday and Tuesday, Dimora was brought to just outside the courtroom in a wheelchair but used a walker when he was in the courtroom.

The Butner complex houses about 3,600 inmates.

The most recent nationally known inmate to be sent there was financier Bernie Madoff.

But the complex has also housed would-be presidential assassin John Hinckley Jr., televangelist Jim Bakker, former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, former Adelphi CEO John Rigas, and former Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard.